Ashley Blannon

10/12/17
TED 407

Language Autobiography

I am from a place known to most as “The Hood” or “The Ghetto”. A place where

language is not usually the topic of conversation. Most people think the language spoken where I

am from is “broken” or considered non-English. So I ask myself, “If I’m not speaking English,

what language am I speaking”? I used to tell myself that I sound like my peers and the people I

see on TV. What makes my English different from anyone else’s? Then it hits me; I am not

being judged or ridiculed based on solely my language speaking skills.

Growing up I remember watching educational shows on PBS such as Sesame Street and

Reading Rainbow with my nannie. It was literally our morning ritual: I help make her coffee,

plop up on the couch snuggled next to her, watch all of my PBS shows first- all while drinking

the tiny bit of coffee she would save for me)- then proceed to watch her “stories” (otherwise

known as soap operas). This was our special time together where we bonded through her sharing

stories with me about where she came from and how times were for her at my age. During my

shows, she would sing all of the songs with me and later give me the “kid-friendly” explanation

of what was happening in her stories. I vividly remember her reading bible scriptures as well as

my favorite storybooks to me everyday throughout the day until I was old enough to start

preschool. Every time my mother came home she was amazed that I learned something new.

Majority of my primary language learning acquisition comes from the teachings of my nannie.
She made sure that I was well prepared before starting school and the quality time we got to

spend together was the icing on the cake.

Being an urban youth comes with a lot of unwanted and unnecessary stressors. The

pressure is always on to be better than how you are perceived and to not become a statistic. In

most urban areas, language as a form of communication is all we have. From ebonics to slang,

language in the African American culture is seen as taboo and non-formal which in some

instances proves to be true. I remember transitioning from LAUSD to RBUSD and to be honest,

it was a bit of a culture shock to me. During my years of primary education, I was surrounded by

peers from a Hispanic background and peers who looked more like me. Fast forward to 6​th​ grade

and I am now in a district where I am suddenly recognizing myself as a minority. I was

overwhelmed with the new changes. People not only didn’t look like me, but they didn’t sound

like me either. The experience of moving schools and having to make new friends was hard to

adapt to alone but I also felt the need to assimilate and be more like those around me in order to

be accepted.

According to Lessow-Hurley (2013), a register is a situationally appropriate form of a

language. People use different varieties of language, depending on the setting, the relationship

between speakers, and the function of the interaction (p.44). Once I realized I was amongst

people of completely different backgrounds who spoke in different tones and accents from me, I

knew I had to do what I could to be more like them and less like myself so I could fit in. At

home, I spoke the usual slang around people I felt comfortable with but once I reached school,

my entire register would change. I switched registers so much that I found it easier to just speak

and let people accept me for who I am. It would make me sad whenever I would speak to the
black students and they would mock me or make fun of me asking, “why do you talk like that,

why do you sound like a white girl”? I felt ostracized because to me, I was only speaking the

way I knew how.

As I continued my journey as a “monolingual” individual, I continued to realize the

struggles African Americans face on the language spectrum. Dialects spoken by African

Americans have historically been seen as a deficient rather than simply different

(Lessow-Hurley, 2013, p.49). In all actuality, there is absolutely nothing with my language. I can

speak in a formal tone, I can speak in an informal tone. When I am around my close friends and

family, I can speak slang and not be questioned for it. When calling to places of business, I can

properly switch up my register in order to showcase my intelligence and professionalism which

is not how I would talk around my friends and family. Bottom line is I am happy with the

English I speak and with the different forms of language I use on a daily basis. No one should

ever be judged based on the language they do or do not speak. We as a country need to be more

welcoming and embrace cultural backgrounds. No two people are the same and that’s what

makes the world as diverse as it is. Language is a representation of ones feelings or ones

thoughts and every individual is entitled to their feelings and thoughts therefore, their language

should be represented and equally important as English is.